ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Orioles may have struggled in front of the sellout crowds at Camden Yards, but they are playing pretty well now that the eyes of Texas are upon them.
They have benefited not so much from the change of scenery, but from the scenery itself, pummeling the slumping Texas Rangers, 9-3, last night to move to the threshold of a three-game sweep at The Ballpark in Arlington.
Go figure. This is the same club that lost seven of 10 games on the last homestand and didn't know where the next clutch hit -- or pitching performance -- was going to come from. Last night, the newly reconfigured Orioles batting order had run off nine hits and disposed of Rangers starting pitcher John Burkett before the end of the second inning.
Not only that. Right-hander Scott Erickson pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up one run on nine hits -- stranding 10 -- to earn his 12th victory of the year. The top three pitchers in the Orioles' rotation -- Jimmy Key, Erickson and Mike Mussina -- just went 18 days without a victory, but Key and Erickson have defeated the Rangers in back-to-back games and Mussina is on deck, with the Rangers having lost seven of their past nine games.
The Orioles' long-struggling offensive attack finally treated the pitching staff to a low-pressure night. First baseman Rafael Palmeiro hit his second decisive home run of the series with a runner on in the first inning and the Orioles batted around to score four times and send Burkett packing in the second.
Palmeiro has been on a tear all month, but he has saved his best for the team that let him go after the 1993 season. The home run was his 20th of the season -- giving him seven straight 20-homer years -- and his fourth in seven games against the Rangers. He also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the second for his 12th RBI against Texas.
"I'm feeling good," Palmeiro said. "I'm close, but I'm still not in the kind of groove I want to get into. I feel I will. It has been a pretty decent month."
It certainly has. The Orioles' leading run producer has hit safely in 15 of the 19 games in July, batting .329 with seven home runs and 13 RBIs.
It was Palmeiro's sixth-inning home run on Monday night that brought the Orioles from behind and jump-started the sputtering offense. This time, almost everybody joined in the fun. Seven different Orioles had hit safely by the time Burkett left the mound.
Not a bad debut for manager Davey Johnson's new-look lineup, which featured Roberto Alomar in the leadoff spot and regular leadoff man Brady Anderson batting cleanup as the Orioles maintained their 3 1/2 -game lead over New York in the AL East.
Right fielder Jeffrey Hammonds, in the second slot for the second night in a row, hit safely in each of his first four at-bats to tie his single-game career high. He doubled in the first inning and scored on Palmeiro's homer, drove in a run with a bloop single in the second, lined a long double to right-center field in the fourth and singled through the left side of the infield in the sixth. He flied out in his final at-bat.
Hammonds also has been on a roll the past few weeks. The multi-hit game was his 21st of the year and raised his average to .301. In his last 19 games, he's batting .377 with 16 runs, eight doubles, two triples, six homers and 13 RBIs.
Erickson had been in a mini-slump. He had not won in his previous three outings and had given up 19 earned runs and 31 hits in his last 15 1/3 innings or work, but collected himself enough to hold the Rangers in check until left-hander Arthur Rhodes took over with one out in the sixth.
It wasn't an overpowering performance, not with Texas stranding 10 runners through the first five innings, but Erickson was resourceful enough to work out of a series of jams to record his first victory since July 1 and improve his record to 12-5.
The Orioles' offensive onslaught stalled when Texas manager Johnny Oates brought on left-hander Eric Gunderson in relief of Burkett, but the Orioles ambushed middleman Tanyon Sturtze for three runs in the sixth inning to turn the game into a blowout.
Alomar walked to lead off that inning and Hammonds followed with his fourth base hit. Sturtze walked Palmeiro to load the bases and Anderson launched a long drive into the gap in left-center to clear the bases. The three-run double was Anderson's third hit of the game and it raised his average to .303.
Orioles tonight
Opponent: Texas Rangers
Site: The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas
Time: 8: 35
TV/Radio: HTS/WBAL (1090 AM)
Starters: Orioles' Mike Mussina (10-4, 3.38) vs. Rangers' Bobby Witt (10-5, 3.76)
Back in running
Last night was a welcome relief to Orioles starter Scott Erickson, who had struggled since holding the Phillies to no earned runs in 7 1/3 innings July 1.
Date . ..Opp .. .. ..IP .. ..H .. .. ..ER .. .. ..Res
7/6 .. ..Det. .. .. .4 1/3 .. .10 .. .. ..11 .. .L, 14-9
7/12 .. .Mil. .. .. .6 1/3 .. ..9 .. .. ...3 .. ..L, 3-2
7/17 .. .Bos. .. .. .4 2/3 .. .12 .. .. ...5 .. .. ...ND
7/22 .. .Tex. .. .. .5 1/3 .. ..9 .. .. ...1 .. ..W, 9-3
Targeting Texas
Rafael Palmeiro has four homers and 12 RBIs in seven games against his former team this season, and 11 homers and 32 RBIs for his career.
Date .. ..H-AB .. ..HR .. ..RBI .. ..BB
April 4 .. 1-4 .. ...0 .. .. .1 .. ...0
April 5 ...1-3 .. ...0 .. .. .1 .. ...0
April 6 ...0-3 .. ...0 .. .. .0 .. ...2
April 11* .2-5 .. ...2 .. .. .4 .. ...0
April 13* .4-5 .. ...0 .. .. .1 .. ...0
July 21 ...1-3 .. ...1 .. .. .2 .. ...0
July 22 ...1-2 .. ...1 .. .. .3 .. ...1
Totals ..10-25 .. ...4 .. ...12 .. ...3
-- at Camden Yards
Pub Date: 7/23/97
